proceedings

Proceedings Specification, Design and Development of a Pyramidal Learning Platform †

Marcos Miró Ferrer 1,∗, Aarón Galiano Jiménez 1, Francisco Javier Ferrández Pastor 1, Juan Manuel García Chamizo 1 and María Luisa Rico Gómez 2 1 Department of Computer Technology and Computation, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain; [email protected] (A.G.J.); [email protected] (F.J.F.P.); [email protected] (J.M.G.C.) 2 Department of General Didactics and Specific Didactics, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +34-650-502-480 † Presented at the 13th International Conference on Ubiquitous Coumpting and Ambient Intelligence UCAmI 2019, Toledo, Spain, 2–5 December 2019.



Published: 15 November 2019


Abstract: The aim of this article is to design an online learning platform that allows tutoring between learners from different levels and the possibility of adding content to the fields of knowledge, using measures that assess quality. It is a versatile technological tool appropriate for the collaboration between different agents, both for acquiring new professional skills and for lifelong learning and formal regulated learning of education systems. Learning takes place through a two-way scheme: On the one hand, the learner is assisted through online tutoring by another highly qualified learner (that acts as a teacher). On the other hand, the same learner assists others from lower categories. In that way, their-skills will be consolidated by forcing reflection on the subject in order to explain it. The knowledge base is a wiki platform stratified in the same levels as the professional and training categories. This platform features evaluation and accounting modules for tutorials and contributions to the content of the wiki. The assignment of several disciples of a given level to each tutor of the superior level makes possible an exponential expansion that is of great interest for using the pyramidal school in projects of solidarity cooperation.

Keywords: online learning platform; lifelong learning; pyramidal structure; dual-track learning; cascade training; stratified wiki; solidary education

1. Introduction The insertion of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in education and its quick development has increased the number of people who have access to education via e-learning platforms, be it informal or formal and recognized [1]. Although these platforms offer great advantages, they all have the same disadvantages [2]. This paper proposes an innovative approach to e-learning systems. The idea is to use a pyramidal structure in which each user acts as a student for the upper levels and as a teacher for the lower levels. In this way, the apprentice reflects on the acquired knowledge, since, in addition to understanding, he or she must be able to explain it. In addition, the system can scale up to a huge number of students in a highly distributed way.

1.1. Motivation This project raises the need of developing a cognitive justice within the paradigm Teaching-Learning (T-L) taking advantage of the rise of online learning systems. The reason for proposing a pyramidal learning platform is that it is an online learning platform that incorporates

Proceedings 2019, 31, 4; doi:10.3390/proceedings2019031004 www.mdpi.com/journal/proceedings Proceedings 2019, 31, 4 2 of 8 a two-way learning system (studying and teaching), establishing a pyramidal tutoring that allows massive training and at the same time abstracts the figure of the traditional teacher and focuses learning on the learner. The operation of the platform will generate a multifield knowledge base stratified by levels of specialization. It provides an ideal platform for solidarity use by offering quality content and learning without the needing teachers or specific infrastructures.

1.2. State of the Art E-learning systems are one of the most widespread methods to support formal training, retraining and lifelong learning [3]. These systems allow the student or the professional to acquire new skills and knowledge without having to move to a specific place and it is the user who decides when and where to study. There are multiple types of e-learning platforms, with similar or very different teaching methods [4], but they all have some points in common; for example, all of them need a monitoring and evaluation system, as learning is not just reading information, it requires guidance [5]. They all depend on a teacher who introduces content into the course. This has a direct impact on the quantity and quality of the content, as well as a subjective decision of what is included and what is not, in addition to the obvious cost of time and effort that the teacher must make to add information to the course. In addition, the fact that most entities carry out their own courses privately means that there may be multiple courses of the same subject with different degrees of quality, information will be repeated many times or even be absent. Some of the most extended methods for online learning are Learning Management System (LMS) platforms, Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) courses and the use of wikis. LMS platforms offer the possibility of sharing materials, doing tutorials and exams and following the work of students and teachers. These characteristics make them both a frequently used distance learning method as well as tools for conventional education [6]. MOOCs are a training methodology using mass access courses to which, at first, anyone could sign up (there are courses of similar methodology but private) [7]. The advantage of these free online courses, which allow mass training by reaching a large number of students, is also a drawback, because there are no minimum requirements for matriculation, so many students of insufficient level leave the course without completing it [8]. The use of wiki platforms in education has been studied on several occasions, determining their usefulness for reinforcing learning by enabling learners to transfer and apply their knowledge and promoting their active role in learning. The operational character of a wiki allows it to be used to support pedagogical activities such as collaborative writing, reflective learning through active participation, and peer collaboration and interaction [9]. Wiki-based learning requires an active approach to knowledge building on the part of learners, who are constantly forced to seek and filter information and generate a discourse about knowledge that leads them to be transmitters, and not just receivers, of knowledge [10]. This attitude in the construction of knowledge and in the transmission of knowledge is also observable in the paradigm T-L, as it is a conception of pedagogy that gives rise to a pedagogical model in which the recipient of the teaching, in addition to benefiting from the condition of the mentioned learner, also exercises the role of teacher to teach others less qualified (obtaining in this way also the benefits of having to exercise the attitudes of teaching responsibility, of having to develop the skills to communicate, and of the knowledge required to build cognitive objects with teaching utility). In fact, the process of teaching makes the knowledge learned objective and produces a higher state of consciousness about that knowledge [11]. From the constructivist point of view, learning is constructed in daily interaction between the elements of the environment and the personal ones, but, above all, of the relationship between subjects. The student only learns when learning is significant according to its structure and previous value scheme [12]. Therefore, one learns what one understands, hence the importance of the process that leads one to seek solutions [13]. Proceedings 2019, 31, 4 3 of 8

The application of a two-way learning scheme, studying on the one hand and teaching on the other hand, in addition to ensuring the assimilation of contents through teaching, guarantees the distribution and personalization of the effort to avoid one single teacher overseeing all the students [14]. These practices are encompassed within the theoretical framework of expert–novice formative pedagogy, of formative programs of “mentors” [15]. Mentoring is an in-person or online practice that was extended to the mid-1970s, in the Anglo-Saxon world, to facilitate the processes of adaptation, transition or personal and professional development, where a mentor and another less experienced or mentored individual are related in a learning process to develop the competencies and capabilities of the novice in a given field [16]. Examples include that of Jones, Fremow and Carples in pyramid training of elementary school teachers to use a classroom management “skill package” [17], in the beginning, or of the more recent Pence, Peter and Giles, in teacher acquisition of functional analysis methods using pyramidal training [18]. With the proposed pyramidal tutoring structure and level stratification, cooperative work is favored, not only with peers, but also between teacher and learner, in an asymmetric relationship, and group work, which is necessary to achieve proper learning. This system generates a cascade training independent of the figure who initiated the process, achieving independent self-learning of the figure of the teacher that was sought [19].

1.3. Objective Taking advantage of the improvements that have been made in education through technology and the increase in people used to learning through e-learning systems, the aim of this article is to design and develop an innovative platform capable of providing quality learning to a huge user community thanks to its explosive expansion. This platform will make possible the usual teacher–student role exchange in a new training space, e-learning type, in which learning uses ICT as an educational paradigm change where the participation of the teacher and the student is materialized in a pyramidal school that uses the two-way learning scheme and all are considered learners with new educational practices, where the strong point is the active and democratic collaboration of all participants.

2. Functional Specification

2.1. Modeling The starting point to develop the solution to the specified problem is to obtain a model. This model is created by abstracting the common points of the elements of the problem as a whole. In this case LMS, MOOC platforms and other different but equally learning-oriented platforms are compared. The objective is to discover whether the “pyramidal learning platform” fits any of the models to which these platforms belong or, on the contrary, it is necessary to create a new model. Each platform proposed below serves as an example to obtain the properties that we want or not in our model. The result of the analysis of these platforms is the Table1, which indicates if each platform complies or not with the extracted characteristics. If a platform presents a "NO", it means that its model is not the appropriate one. According to the table, pyramidal learning platform could belong to the LMS model. However, due to the learning methodology presented and the innovative nature of the proposed platform, a new model is considered: tutored e-learning platform.

= < > ∧ < > ∧ < > MTELP AccesToCourses : byLevel Evaluation Forums/Chats : Yes/No ∧ < Tutorials : betweenLearners > ∧ < GradeQuery : yes > ∧ < CreateCourses : byRole > ∧ < Content : stratifiedWiki > ∧ < PublishAndDownloadContent : byLevel > ∧ < IntegrationWithOtherToolst : yes >

Therefore, the pyramidal learning platform belongs to the tutored e-learning platform model. Proceedings 2019, 31, 4 4 of 8

Table 1. Model decision for the pyramidal learning platform.

Access Evaluation Forums Tutorials Content Publish and Grade Create Integration to or Structuring Download Query Courses with Other Courses Chats by Hierarchies Content Tools Moodle Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Chamilo Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Claroline Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes SWAD No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes ILIAS Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Udacity Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes No Coursera Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes No edX Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes No Udemy Yes Yes No No No Yes No Yes No UACloud No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes

2.2. Formulation The established model indicates the basic functions that the platform must fulfill, but it is necessary to extract the particularizations capable of providing a solution to the specific problem dealt with in this article. Extracted from the objective: EA—Easily accessible. EGL—Explosive growth of learners. OIALL—Offer information according to the learner’s level. AIGC— Auto-incremental growth of contents. EQLL—Ensuring quality levels of learning. SU—To be used in solidarity. Extracted from the state of the art: MLE—Make learning easier. ILL—Independence of learning from localization. EAK—Evaluate the acquired knowledge. Arbitrary inspired objectives: EIOT—Easily integrated with other tools.

“Pyramidal learning platform” is a particularized tutored e-learning platform model to be easily accessible and independent of learning from localization, allow an explosive growth of learners, have an auto-incremental growth of contents, offer the appropriate information to the level of the learner, usable in a solidary way, facilitate and evaluate the learning and to ensure quality levels of learning, and be easily integrated with other tools. Alternatively: PLP = TELP ∧EA ∧ ILL ∧ EGL ∧ AIGC ∧ OIALL ∧ SU ∧ MLE ∧ EAK ∧ EQLL ∧ EIOT

3. Proposed Solution Once the specific functionalities of the platform have been defined, the modules that conform the solution proposal are considered. Table2 shows the established modules and the functionalities covered by each one. It has been decided to group the functionalities so that the proposed solution consists of two sub-platforms that can be reused in other projects and allow their implementation separately. Proceedings 2019, 31, 4 5 of 8

Table 2. Grouped features.

Wiki Platform EA ILL MLE EGL OIALL EQLL SU AIGC EAK EIOT Access API x x x x Knowledge Database (stratified wiki) x x Content management (consultation-edition) x x Management of contributions and queries x Contribution quality management x x Learning system EA ILL MLE EGL OIALL EQLL SU AIGC EAK EIOT Access API x x x x Pyramid tutoring system x x x Access to information management x Teacher quality management x Evaluation system x x WebApp x x x

WebApp: The access to the platform will be done through a web application in charge of generating the user interface and carrying out the requests to the Application Program Interfaces (APIs) of the other sub-platforms. This module allows access from any location, making the learning independent of the geographical location and the solidary use of the platform. Wiki Platform: This grouping will form the knowledge base of the platform and will manage the content, contributions and queries and the quality of the information stored. It will be made up of the following modules:

• Access API. API that is able to receive requests from any web application and send the response. • Knowledge Database. It will be the database stratified by levels. • Content management (consult-edition). The objective of this module is to organize the information obtained from the knowledge base. • Management of contributions and queries. This module will count the contributions and queries. • Contribution quality management. Each contribution must pass a quality assessment.

Learning platform: This grouping will manage the learning and assessment system. It consists of the following modules:

• Access API. It will have the same objective as the wiki’s API. • Pyramid tutoring system. It will be responsible for establishing tutor–student relationships. • Access to information management. The objective of this module is to select the options that will be shown to each learner according to their level. • Teacher quality management. It will evaluate the performance of each tutor. • Evaluation system. This module will evaluate the knowledge acquired.

The possibility of adding and modifying content to the knowledge base, as well as the evaluation that other learners make of these contributions, together with the tutoring between learners of different levels, and the transmission of knowledge that this entails, causes the construction of knowledge by the learners exercised in their two roles, learning and teaching. Through this two-way methodology, the traditional learning figure is transformed into an active participative reality in the management and acquisition of knowledge. The application of the learning cascade generated by this methodology to a pyramidal tutoring structure enables a great growth of the platform and therefore the possibility of offering learning to a large percentage of the population. The structure of the proposed solution is Figure1. Starting from this modular structure, the organizational proposal can be seen in Figure2. ProceedingsVersion2019 October, 31 29,, 4 2019 submitted to Journal Not Specified 6 of 8 6 of 8

Pyramidal Learning Platform

WebApp Wiki Platform Learning Platform API User interface Management of Access to API contributions Knowledge information and queries Access to the Database management Pyramid APIs tutoring system Contribution Content Teacher quality quality management management Evaluation management system

FigureFigure 1. Structure 1. Structure diagram. diagram.

Figure 2. Organizational diagram

186 the Laravel framework specialized in the creation of APIs for microservices. The database selected 187 for this project is MySQL due to its simplicity,Figure 2. theOrganizational stability it has diagram. and the large amount of information 188 available on the internet.

189Prototype4. Validation Technology

190 TheIn implementation order to check the correct of the functioning prototype of the was platform, carried a series out using of phenomenological different technologies tests have for each 191groupingbeen performed. of modules The of deployed the platform; prototype all did of not them have are all openthe functionalities, source. The but front-end it allowed was testing programmed 192 the main features of the platform, such as the interaction between users through tutorials and the with Angular, which allows separating the modules and the code of the web application by using 193 contribution of knowledge to the courses that the platform had available at that time. First, two groups components. The wiki and the learning platform were programmed with Lumen, a reduced version of 194 of 50 learners each have been generated with arbitrary data to complete the profile. Once created, the

195the Laravelfollowing framework formula has been specialized used to distribute in the creation the tutors of inAPI ans adequate for microservices. and equitable The way. database selected for this project is MySQL due to its simplicity, the stability it has, and the large amount of information available on the Internet.

4. Validation To check the correct functioning of the platform, a series of phenomenological tests was performed. The deployed prototype did not have all the functionalities, but it allowed testing the main features of the platform, such as the interaction between users through tutorials and the contribution of knowledge to the courses that the platform had available at that time. First, two groups of 50 learners each were generated with arbitrary data to complete their profiles. Once created, the following formula was used to distribute the tutors in an adequate and equitable way. Proceedings 2019, 31, 4 7 of 8

  e number of learners at the expert level  2   e ≥ N/(ν + ν + 1)  m number of learners at the medium level m = eν b number of learners at the basic level  b ≤ eν2  N total number of learners   ν tutoring module

The level of knowledge was distributed initially in three levels, which can be appreciated in the previous formula. Both groups were provided with different knowledge parameters more or less suitable for the pyramidal distribution; this was done to check the proper functioning of the formula for distribution of tutors. Once the groups were ready, we proceeded to create a large volume of tutorials, thus generating the first interactions between users. All this was with the aim of verifying that consumption and contributions were correctly recorded. Having already verified the tutoring part, the functioning of the contributions to the wiki was tested. It was checked if, when the users of the higher level accepted the new content that it x published and became the current information, and, conversely, when the users of the higher level decided that the new information introduced did not meet the quality requirements, it was discarded. Having in mind the above data, the prototype passed a rigorous testing, thus we can estimate that the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of this project is 4 out of 9: component and/or breadboard validation in laboratory environment. (TRL is a tool used to measure the maturity level of a technology, providing us with a common methodology to measure its state. It is assigned a level according to the requirements met by the current state of technology, being 1 the lowest and 9 the highest. https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/heo/scan/engineering/ technology/txt_accordion1.html)

5. Conclusions The learner is an active actor in the acquisition and construction of knowledge, in feedback and continuous evaluation, through the study of the content of the courses, the performance of the proposed tests and the incorporation of new knowledge in the wiki. In that way, the platform acts as an integrative element together with the subject in the active construction of knowledge. The way of working of the platform provokes the growth, updating and continuous improvement of the contents of the wiki, generating a multidisciplinary knowledge base of great value in itself. Due to the learning system and tutorials, along with the information stored in the knowledge base, this platform is suitable for disseminating and promoting training in resource-poor environments where quality training is normally not easily accessible. Therefore, in addition to being an online learning tool and supporting formal training, it is appropriate for solidarity learning projects. After analyzing the results of the tests performed, the developed platform is ready for real-world testing. These tests must show the effectiveness of the methodology and the increase of the skills developed by the students. In future versions, it is planned to work on the quality management system in order to automate the process as much as possible. In anticipation of an increase in the number of learners and courses on the platform, it will be advisable to deploy it in a cloud environment capable of distributing the load of requests in order to ensure optimum performance at any moment.

Author Contributions: F.J.F.P. and J.M.G.C. performed the functional specification of the problem and the structural specification of the solution. M.L.R.G. contributed to the part corresponding to education. M.M.F. and A.G.J. designed, developed and implemented the technological platform. Funding: This research was funded by the Valencian Innovation Agency (AVI) under scientific innovation unit (UCIE Ars Innovatio) of the University of Alicante. https://web.ua.es/es/ars-innovatio/unidad-cientifica-de- innovacion-ars-innovatio.html. Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest. Proceedings 2019, 31, 4 8 of 8

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